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ATOMTelepresence Magic
Added by Mark Adams, 6 months ago.
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I have always been a great fan of StarTrek in all it various forms, Star Trek, Deep Space Nine etc etc.
In all of the shows the favourite way for the crew to communicate is to use Video Conferencing; talking to a large screen with no visible microphones, the system translating between languages if necessary all very easy to use and great quality. In fact you could always tell when Captain Kirk was going to have a problem the video quality of the communication link deteriorated !!
However in real life Video Conferencing was expensive, difficult to use and really poor quality. These facts meant that for many years I was never a great fan of Video prefering Voice and Web conferencing which provided significant business benefits at low cost.
The advent of IP based High definition Video Conferencing has changed my mind, it is easy to use, relatively cheap and reliable. A number of manufacturers have taken this concept even further with Telepresence systems.
The Telepresence systems are fabulous. They recreate a genuine meeting experience where the technology becomes secondary to the meeting experience. Cisco have probably been most successful demonstrating the Telepresence concept to their customers and using it internally between some of their larger locations.
The cost is fairly hefty both for the Telepresence systems and the bandwidth between sites but a large number of clients seem to be converted and are buying the systems.
However Cisco have now moved the playing field with the new product that they demonstrated at the opening of their new campus in India. I my humble opinion - amazing.
Have a look at the clip and see what you think...I reckon it is done using magic - Move over Harry Potter here come Cisco.
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Comments
There are currently 15 comments about this blog.
Jan Zelezinski, 3 months ago
Folks, FYI Good old Microsoft are in the game as expected and recently announced that they are working with Tandberg to deliver a $300 high-definition video camera by next year that it said will bring high-quality video conferencing to the masses. If you want to know more then go see:-http://www.networkworld.com/news/2008/031808-voicecon-microsoft-keynote.html?page=1 Of course you'll need Microsoft's Open Communications Server but then that's no surprise either !!!!!
Mark Adams, 5 months ago
Victoria - I find there is no problem with latency - though I do have a 512 upstream on my ADSL. Though when I had a smaller connection 256k Upsteam it still wasn't as issue
Victoria, 5 months ago
Hi Mark - can I ask how often you tend to use video when working over a broadband connection? Is it more frequently than say, six months ago? I stopped using it back then as I found there was too much latency to make it suitable for long meetings.
Mark Adams, 5 months ago
Richard I think that users do want to use a visual interface - in the right circumstances. I often work from home and have trialled a number of different video systems over my broadband link. Do I use them for all of my commuications - No - I choose which communications that I will enable video for. These are meetings like reviews, forecasts, where the visual element adds significant impact to the meeting. For other communications I use IM, email and phone as you suggest.
Mark Adams, 5 months ago
Stephen - I am afraid that i dont know how much the system costs. What i can tell you is Cisco are not known for selling inexpensive Video Systems. As the system is very new, the video is the first time I have seen it I guess the only company using it currently is Cisco.
Robert Jones, 5 months ago
I am impressed by the demonstration. However, one point that I think is often overlooked when it comes to new technology, especially in communication/conferencing etc, is the desire of users for a visual interface. 3G video calls haven't really taken off (and even webcams to a certain extent) - yes, there are quality and coverage issues, but I think the majority of users are simply uncomfortable with face-to-face communication anywhere other than in the real world - it doesn't feel natural. IM, texting and emails are popular because they're quick and don't require a full-blown conversation and all the human rituals and 'niceties' that entails. However, the telepresence system is likely to save a lot of airmiles at the high-end/executive level, but I don't think there's the desire for any video communication on the desktop for the reasons above.
Steven Cripps, 5 months ago
That is fantastic. Mark do you have any ballpark figures in terms of the cost of one of these systems, and are you aware of any organisations using it in the real world now? Thanks
Mark Adams, 5 months ago
Charlie an interesting question - I assume that the presenter must be in some sort of studio so he can "see" the far end otherwise it would be difficult to get eye contact.
Charlie, 5 months ago
It certainly looked amazing, I'm curious to know what perception the guy beamed over as a hologram had of space is was being beamed into. Or was he just told to look his right ... seemed a pretty dark room! Great stuff to see.
Mark Adams, 5 months ago
I agree with both Chris and Victoria as the saying goes "Horses for courses". I envisage the Telepresense solution/s being used by large corporates for team collaboraton, whilst there will be other soultions for Mobile, desktop, small meeting rooms etc all at different price points with different functionality. Currently the main issue is still lack of/cost of bandwidth, especially to the desktop (1,000 x 384 video links across the WAN is a lot of bandwidth!)
Victoria, 6 months ago
I'm not so sure, Chris, that 12 to 14-year-olds wouldn't also be enthralled by this technology. Imagine how many kids would love the chance to play full-size hologram versions of many gaming characters. But yes, I do agree that video on the desktop has to improve - particularly as more people will want to work flexibly, from home etc. in the future. That’s not to say though, that this type of telepresence technology won’t also have its place in corporations. Both can co-exist in the future workplace.
Mark Adams, 6 months ago
The technology really does exist, I was talking to someone and apparently the technology is based on some high end Projectors from Barco, I would be very interested to see the system in operation with my own eyes. Regarding the price tag and applications for Telepresence technologies, I know of a bank that is investing in Telepresence to link together their main sites on a global basis. They see that the Telepresence systems will allow long meetings (4-8 hours) that can't currently be undertaken on Video Conferencing Systems as the technology is too tiring. They didn't even bother to work out the Return on Investment as they know the cost of flying senior executives is so high that the systems will pay for themselves very quickly. When these systems do get into the home office just remember to dress for work.
Chris Gabriel, 6 months ago
This is why we can age ourselves very easily. £100 says that most 12, 13 and 14 year olds would think we are mad thinking video has to be full size, super quality to be of any use. This is fantastic stuff and hats off to Cisco, but, we all know that its getting video onto the desktop that will create better communications. Although perhaps is because of my waistline expanding over Christmas as to why I would be nervous about full size body holograms....
Victoria, 6 months ago
What this technology - if it really exists! - overcomes is the problem video and web conferencing have, which is not enabling people to feel like they are really seeing and interacting with one another, as you have in a real-life meeting. Perhaps next, we'll all be putting on teleporting bracelets to travel the world (not to mention galaxies), as seen in the Doctor Who Christmas special...
Mandy Shaw, 6 months ago
It would be interesting to see some examples - the price tag may be high, but how many business class transatlantic flights does it represent, for the big organisations that are investing in this technology? And that doesn't even take into account the time saved or the reduced environmental impact. Today's expensive big enterprise solution is tomorrow's affordable SMB solution, anyway. Who's to say we won't have this technology in our home offices in ten years? This is one of the most potentially far-reaching technology developments I have seen.